The Art of Bonsai

Max Miller of Farragut, Iowa started growing bonsai in 1964. He has taught many bonsai workshops and helped form the Nebraska Bonsai Society. He will share about growing and caring for bonsai.

Max Miller started growing bonsai in 1964 while living in Berea, Ohio.  Later he moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin where he belonged to the Coulee Region Bonsai Club from 1973 to 1985.  He moved to Arizona in 1985, and has been a member of the Phoenix Bonsai Society since then.  He served as President of both organizations.  After moving to Farragut, Iowa in 2007, he taught introductory classes about bonsai in his home for several years.  In 2010 he helped form the Nebraska Bonsai Society, and has taught several bonsai workshops for club members.  His personal collection of bonsai includes specimens of Japanese Black Pine, Vitex, Bougainvillea, Ficus, Juniper, Japanese Maple, Hackberry, and Liquidambar.  He exhibited a Creosote bonsai at the 1999 American Bonsai Society Symposium in Tucson, and it received the Best Design award.  He exhibited an Oriental Liquidambar forest at the Iowa State Fair in 2021, and received the Living Art Award for it.  He also has a small side business selling bonsai tools, wire, and other supplies.  He holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, and is retired from Honeywell Engines in Phoenix.  He is married and has 2 daughters, 6 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.